Santander...! Things they could maybe do better...

soulsaver · 27 May 2022 at 8:39PM

My experience is based on the on line facility, I don't use their app.

Don't get me wrong - I like their 123 accounts, I've had them since launch.
I liked the interest rates; I like the DD rebate. I like the 'lite' option and a few loop holes that they don't seem to be bothered about.
I like the switch incentives ...big time.

But some of the system functionality lets them down, that maybe shouldn't be hard to improve...

Starter:

Why is it no longer possible to set up a SO using an existing payee's details? It was there before - so they changed to make it worse?

Why do I have to 2 FA for a payment to a payee I've paid a hundred times before? (even when I last 2FA'd paid them 5 minutes ago?).

I've got other stuff that grates, but let's see what else comes up...

What could they improve for you?

molerat · 27 May 2022 at 9:25PM

Why do I have to 2 FA for a payment to a payee I've paid a hundred times before? (even when I last 2FA'd paid them 5 minutes ago?)

Not had that problem.

Is it all the time or an out of character payment - normally pay a max of £100 and want to pay £2000 ?

uk1 · 27 May 2022 at 9:36PM

I closed one of my accounts a few days ago. A few days later it hadn’t closed and they had added the monthly fee. I used online chat and asked why it hadn’t been closed and was told “it would take two or three days and that I should have been told”. I said “fine no harm done … as long as you’re closing it … please credit the £4 …. “ and I was told “sorry … we cannot do that” so I said “fine … if you think that I should be happy to pay a month because you refuse to action the request when requested and then charge me, then let’s escalate it to a formal complaint then” “No problem sir you will here from us ….. but it might take while as the complaints department is very busy at the moment …..”

Daliah · 27 May 2022 at 10:39PM

Setting up a new SO in online banking has been coded by a child. It is marginally better in the app, as you can select from all your existing payees. Sadly, though, there is no search function, and the payees are in [invisible] date order, so you need to scroll through a potentially long list. It's been coded be a slightly older child.

There are lots of other niggles, such as their notification of incoming and outgoing payments. Another child has decided that the notifications don't start until 10 am, so your phone goes into overdrive shortly after 10 am and bombards you with all the transactions that happened since the previous evening.

The Retailer offers are for the birds. Since 2014, I have made £32.52 from those, the last one over two years ago.

I rarely ever use online banking - only if I have to, for example, when I want to amend an SO, as this is not something I can do in the app. One of the big advantages of the app is that you don't need to faff about with OTPs, as you are giving biometric approval in the app.

In terms of app functionality, they are falling further and further behind their competitors. I have given up asking them for improvements as they never make any.

Still, I can do everything I need to do with my 123 Lite, which I now had for over 10 years (started life as a full fat 123, obviously). Over the years, I have made nearly £4,000 from interest and cashback, £800 in Amazon vouchers, and I am still making over £60 net a year from the DD cashback. My 123 Lite is also my hub account for around 20 other accounts. So I am not about to shut it down - - but I might consider setting up SOs for any new Regular Savers on my Chase Saver account at some stage, if the Chase saver maintains a competitive interest rate.

soulsaver · 28 May 2022 at 8:02AM

molerat said:

Why do I have to 2 FA for a payment to a payee I've paid a hundred times before? (even when I last 2FA'd paid them 5 minutes ago?)
Not had that problem.
Is it all the time or an out of character payment - normally pay a max of £100 and want to pay £2000 ?

It feels like all the time. My OH uses her own card for personal things but if there's a mix of her's & household, I get the task of reimbursing her from the Joint ac. She likes to tie the reimbursements to her receipts so we to use the ref field for each receipt... which means I occasionally use the 'pay' to the same payee multiple times consecutively.

I'm not sure if it's all the time, but yesterday I got an OTP each time. It's what triggered this thread.

There'll be more moans on OTPs, I'm sure.

Daliah · 28 May 2022 at 8:11AM

soulsaver said:
It feels like all the time. My OH uses her own card for personal things but if there's a mix of her's & household, I get the task of reimbursing her from the Joint ac. She likes to tie the reimbursements to her receipts so we (like & )use the facility to use the ref field for each receipt... which means I occasionally use the 'pay' to the same payee multiple times consecutively.

I'm not sure if it's all the time, but yesterday I got an OTP each time. It's what triggered this thread.

There'll be more moans on OTPs, I'm sure.

You can completely avoid OTP when you use the app. Easy to override the Reference when making a payment to an existing payee, too.